The race weekend had a stressful start when I arrived in Houston and realized my bike had been broken. Tech support was able to fix it to work and my bike shop (BikeWise in Oxford, Ohio) had the part sent to me to allow for the bike to be correctly fixed.

I arrived at transition early. It was a long walk from transition to the swim start. I was full of nerves race morning. I hate crowds. I was happy Pater was there to calm me down and make sure I got in the water to start. The water temp was 81 degrees. Nice! We had about 15 minutes of treading water before the cannon signaled start of the race. I started toward the front, but off to the side a bit. It was a rough start. The man-made lake/canal was not that large. The water was dark, so it was not possible to see your hands or the feet in front of you. My stroke was short and choppy until I made the first turn. After the first turn, I was able to find some free water and open up my stroke. I spotted Pater and his cousin watching on the bank of the canal. There were not too many females around me, so they were able to see me. Of course I had to wave to them while swimming. :-) The canal was narrow and shallow. There were people standing on the banks of both sides of the canal cheering. I could tell it was not a fast swim for me (average). This was my first open water swim since Louisville last August. My Garmin buttons must have pushed during the swim as it was not in the correct mode and the timing was off when I exited the water. There were a few women in the changing tent, but not many. I had a volunteer help me and I was on my way to bike.

I quickly found my pace and settled in on the bike. My Garmin was still messed up, but I had the computer on my bike working. This is a one loop course and there is nothing exciting about it. The scenery is not that interesting and it is mostly flat with a few rollers. I stayed in the big ring the entire ride and only got out of aero position when turning corners. It was hot and humid. I noticed the wind shift about mile 60. It was WINDY! I kept a good pace and kept pushing. I didn't want to over bike and destroy my legs for the run. With this being such an early season race, most of my rides (including century rides) were on the trainer. I was not sure how this would impact my race. There were lots of race officials on the course and they were really watching for drafting. Due to the flat and windy course, it was an ideal situation for drafting. Sections of the course were next to a busy road that was not closed to traffic. We rode on the side of the road, but it did make passing a little difficult. It was so hot! I forced myself to stay up with nutrition and hydration. I was taking fresh bottles at every aid station (10 miles). I felt good the entire ride, but not overly powerful. It was a controlled strong. I passed lots of guys on the windy back half of the course that took the first half too fast. I picked up the pace and pushed the last 12 miles back to transition. Did I mention it was hot and windy?!?! There was only one female in the transition tent when I arrived. A volunteer helped me and I was ready to run.

The run was a three loop, flat course. I started the run feeling fantastic. Since the total race time had been deleted from the Garmin, I just put it in run mode so I could keep an eye on my pace. I also had the watch time up. I knew I wanted to finish before 6:00PM. Around mile 5 or 6 of the run I realized that I had not peed since in the water before the start of the race. I stopped at a port-a-potty, but couldn’t go. Not good. I kept running and taking in lots of water. I was also eating gels and chomp blocks. The first loop (almost 9 miles) was great. This is a nice run course for crowd support. I saw Pater, his cousin, and other friends. I started the second loop feeling good. Sections of this run course are on a run/bike path that is not very wide. The second and third loop did become somewhat crowded with people running really slow or walking 3 or 4 people across. This took up the entire path and it was not possible to pass. I needed to say, “on your left” or “stay to the right” a few times to pass. Around mile 12 I started feeling very hot. I was still drinking at every aid station and using the cold sponges. I kept moving forward, but my pace slowed. I couldn’t cool down. I finished the second loop. The crowd was amazing!!! I was tired and sore. Around mile 19 I noticed I had goose bumps and was feeling cold. I was watching the time and was getting concerned that I was not going to finish in under 11:00 hours. I wanted it bad! I talked to myself during the last 4 or 5 miles. I saw Pater again with 2 miles to go. At this point, I couldn’t look at my watch and I couldn’t go any faster. I have a lot of room for improvement with my run and would like to spend some time focusing on this. I finally made it to the finish line split. The finish line had a 90 degree turn, so I couldn’t see the clock until I made the turn. I saw 10:5X and then found a little bit more energy and picked up my step. I was so happy!!!

A volunteer and medical personnel talked with me. I told them I had not peed all day and I was freezing. They took me to medical and I was given two IV bags of fluid before finally needing to potty. My temp was also very low at 92.4. I warmed up and rehydrated before they released me. I felt much better after a shower and some sleep.

My goal for this race was sub 11:00 and Kona qualify. I didn’t KQ, but I am thrilled with my 10:53:30. This is was tough race day and I raced the best I possibly could. I am very happy with the result!

KSH - 2012-05-22 9:35 AM It was a tough day out there! Sub 11 is amazing... especially since you haven't been a heat training or riding outdoors. You are certainly gifted Amy. Race officials? There were race officials? Never saw ONE the ENTIRE RACE. Seriously! I guess they didn't care about us BOPer's. Ha! Great job out there! It was nice seeing you again!

LOL. There were tons of officals all around where I was. LOL. It was great seeing you again. COngrats on your finish!!! You stayed tough out there and got it done!